Working women according to Islam - I

24/11/2010| IslamWeb

In principle, a woman's work in Islam should be at home where she can take care of her husband's property, organize his life and manage the affairs of her house. In her house, she works towards achieving the goals of marriage and noble motherhood devotedly and sincerely. Since it is the duty of the husband to earn money, she has to spend it wisely to manage the household affairs. The Prophet, said: "The woman is a caretaker in her husband's house and she will be held responsible for those whom she takes care of."

 

Islam obliges the man to financially support his wife, regardless of his economic status. In the absence of a husband, Islam obliges a woman's relatives -- whether a father, a brother or any man responsible for looking after her -- to financially support her. If she has no husband or relative and she is poor, Islam would make her financial maintenance and guardianship a duty on the Muslim ruler from Bayt Al-Maal  (the Muslims’ public treasury). The Prophet, , said: "There is no believer except that I am the worthiest of him of all people in this world and in the Hereafter. Recite, if you wish (what means):{The Prophet is more worthy of the believers than themselves.} [Quran 33:6] If any believer leaves behind any wealth, let his own relatives inherit it; but if he leaves behind any debt or orphans, bring them to me and I will take care of them."

 

This shows how Islam is keen to keep the woman within her normal sphere of activity, i.e. the house, as a means of honoring her, appreciating her mission in this life and protecting her from the humiliation and hard work that comes from negotiating the maze of life and seeking a source of income. Nevertheless, sometimes a woman may not have any one to provide for her, or is forced by some circumstances to go to work despite the presence of a supporter, either because the male relatives are poor, or have a low income, are sick or disabled or for any other reason. In such a case, it may be a necessary for her to go out and work.

 

Islam gives due consideration to these exceptional circumstances, hence, it allows a woman to go out of her house looking for a source of sustenance to provide for her needs, on the condition that the work is lawful. Besides, she should be qualified to do it well, and the work itself should not be unfit for her nature. She should maintain her chastity and dignity  at the workplace, which should be away from the places of corruption, where temptation is most likely to exist. The woman's work should not entail any social or moral harm; prevent her from fulfilling her other duties towards her husband, children and house or be beyond her capacity. During the course of her work outside the house, the woman should not violate the teachings of Islam regarding her dress, adornment, covering her body and intermixing with non-Mahram men.

 

This is the guidance of Islam regarding the woman's work. So, giving free rein to a woman to work -- with or without necessity -- certainly contradicts the Islamic Sharee‘ah, the sound innate disposition on which Allah created women, and her main mission in life. This hinders the woman from performing one of her most sublime duties, which include her natural and social role, in addition to undermining the man's right to be in charge of his wife.

 

Advocates of the unconditional right of women to work justify their claim with some points, which cannot withstand serious study and discussion.

 

·         They claim: Women should be allowed to work to escape the "deadly boredom", which results from her staying in the house all the time.

 

We say that a woman's work in her husband's house where she takes care of his property, and organizes his life, achieving the goals of marriage and motherhood consciously, truthfully and sincerely is sufficient to fill the vacuum in her heart, mind and time that you claim she complains of. Moreover, this also guarantees that her house will be showered with happiness and contentment. Her sense of satisfaction and fulfillment  in tending to her house and family would leave no room for the  alleged "boredom", if she is sincere about accomplishing her mission and fulfilling her duties.

 

This fact was affirmed by a woman who devotes herself to defending women: Phyllis McGinley, an American writer, who wrote an article on how the house is considered the only kingdom of a woman and wondered why women are considered 'traitors' to their gender if they return to their original role in the house, particularly after they have finally gained their 'freedom'. She answered this question by stating that women are more entitled to remain as housewives, and she appreciated this role of the woman and realized its importance to society and the rest of humanity, to the extent that she believed it to be sufficient to fulfill a woman's life.

 

This is a remark made by a Western female intellectual that she concluded from her own experience, and naturally, she is more aware of a woman's tasks and nature than any man.

 

·         They claim: The glory of the nation lies in its large manpower. Knowing that women constitute one half of the society, this glory cannot be achieved if half the society is idle.

 

We say that this half is not 'idle' as they claim; rather, it is assigned much more difficult and  important tasks than men. Since building the glory of the nation requires manpower and thinking brains, those brains also need someone to raise them, look after them and instruct them until they can strongly face the hardships of this life to serve the nation and build its glory. On returning home tired after a hard day, they need someone to ensure that they have a warm and restful haven, where they find the one who helps them forget hardships and inspires them to continue with determination and resolve. This is undoubtedly  hard work and a difficult task, yet a sublime mission. Who can carry out these tasks perfectly except a woman?

 

So, half of the society is not 'idle'; it accomplishes the mission for which Allah created them. If this mission was neglected and no longer observed, its negative effects will appear on the children -- the future builders of the nation's glory -- in terms of moral degradation, aimless wandering, disintegration of the family, and deterioration of the society leading to the collapse of the glory that was built.

 

What is work in the opinion of those people? Are such tasks not part of the woman's work? If the criterion of work versus idleness is contribution to life, the woman's work takes precedence; however, considering the man's work as everything, and the woman's work as nothing, is utterly unfair to the woman and her sublime mission in this life.

 

Administering a state is by no means greater in position and more critical in consequences than administering the affairs of the home. They are closely related and run parallel: the world of fighting and Jihaad versus the world of tranquility and security; planning for the current generation versus planning for the coming generation – both are equally essential and critical. Had it not been for a woman's inferiority complex, she would have taken pride in ruling the home and shaping its future; a pride that is no less than that which men take in administering their workplaces and handling the problems of society. However, the problem mainly lies in the love of imitation, without realizing the dangers of such blind imitation. 

 

Working women according to Islam - II